Thesis (Ph.D.)--Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 288-309).

The diploma thesis "The Chotek Family and Sophie Chotek" deals with the development of a traditional Czech noble family from the first historical record to the last members of the family who died in 70's of 20th century. Central person of the thesis is Sophie Chotek, the best known woman of the family, who lived from 1868 to 1914. We can read about her life of a single young noblewoman during her service in Bratislava, where she was as a maid-of-honour and where she met her future husband archduke Francis Ferdinand d'Este. They got married on 1st July 1900. The last part of the thesis speaks about fourteen years of marriage. The greater part of this happy time they spent in the Konopiště Castle in Central Bohemia. Sophie and Francis Ferdinand also had three children Sophie, Maxmilian and Ernst of Hohenberg, whose life stories are included, too.

- Educators in the Service of the Throne. Private Teachers of the Austrian- Hungarian Imperial Heirs Several potential successors were growing up during the lengthy reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I. But two of them, the Emperor's own son Crown Prince Rudolph and his nephew Franz Ferdinand, could never ascend to the throne due to their premature deaths. His grandnephew, Archduke Charles Franz Joseph, claimed the throne in the tense times of the First World War. For a would-be successor, not only military education was essential, but also language skills and such subjects as history, law and economy that the future ruler of a vast and ethnically diverse state was expected to have a good command of. This paper focuses on the lives of teachers who attended both the Emperor's and the Archduke's courts.

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This thesis explores the relationship between the many literary texts referring to the deaths of Ugo d'Este and Parisina Malatesta, who were executed in Ferrara in 1425 in accordance with an order by Niccolò III d'Este after he discovered their incestuous relationship. The texts are divided in three categories: (1) the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian novellas and their translations; (2) the seventeenth-century Spanish tragedy; and (3) the nineteenth- and twentieth-century Romantic works. Although these categories divide the various texts chronologically, they also represent a thematic grouping as the texts within each category share common themes that set them apart from those in the other groups. While the various texts all tell the same story, each approaches the tragedy slightly differently based largely on the audience for which it was intended. Thus, the time and place of each text greatly affects its telling. Still, the fact that substantial differences exist between texts that were produced in both geographic and temporal proximity suggests that these are not all-determining factors. Although scholarship exists analyzing individual texts, a comprehensive study of the literary accounts relating to the tragedy has never been undertaken. Rather than detracting from the story, the differences put forth in each of the literary texts enrich the global reading experience by offering many perspectives on the tragedy. In addition, these differences influence how the reader reacts to each of the other texts. Familiarity with one version of the story changes the way a reader approaches the others. A parallel reading of the different versions of the story also shows the power culture has on interpretation. Texts referring to a singular event from one time and place sharply contrast with those that are the product of other circumstances.

Ma recherche porte sur l’action diplomatique et religieuse des cardinaux d’Este et sur leur rôle de médiateurs entre l’Italie et la France. L’objectif est de faire apparaître les fondements géopolitiques de leur action, en prenant soin de faire ressortir les différentes échelles de leur action. L’emprise territoriale des cardinaux d’Este se manifeste, en effet, par l’existence de relais italiens et français. La présence d’Ippolito II d’Este et de Luigi d’Este est étudiée aussi bien sous l’angle de leur présence matérielle que sous celui de leur participation aux enjeux politiques du temps. La recherche s’inscrit à la croisée de plusieurs historiographies. Tout d’abord, elle cherche à affiner la connaissance de la sociologie des cardinaux au XVIe siècle. Ensuite, elle reprend les apports de l’histoire des relations internationales pour revenir sur le rôle des deux cardinaux d’Este comme supports de la couronne française à Rome et médiateurs pontificaux à la cour de France, et étudier leurs pratiques. Enfin, l’analyse vise à reprendre la catégorie d’humanisme chrétien, conceptualisée par Erasme, pour voir si elle constitue une ligne directrice de leur conduite religieuse. En prêtant attention à leur démarche sur la scène internationale, l’étude vise également à montrer que se dessine une identité catholique qui n’est pas hétérodoxe, mais s’insère bien dans la plus stricte orthodoxie confessionnelle. En revanche, la traversée des monts entraîne des réajustements sur le plan de l’expression et de la représentation de la foi. / My research focuses on the d’Este cardinals’ diplomatic and religious actions and on their role as mediators between Italy and France. My objective is to uncover the geopolitical foundations of their actions whilst highlighting the different scales thereof. The territorial emprise of the d’Este cardinals is actually revealed by the existence of Italian and French relays. I study the presence of Ippolito II and Luigi d’Este both in terms of their material presence and their participation in the political stakes of the time. This research combines multiple forms of historiography. First, it develops the existing knowledge of the cardinals’ sociology in the sixteenth century. It then considers contributions from the history of international relations and how they pertain to the roles of the two d’Este cardinals as supporters of the French crown in Rome and pontifical mediators in the French court and studies their methods. I conclude by analysing Christian humanism as conceptualised by Erasmus to see whether it constitutes a guideline for their religious conduct. By examining their modus operandi on the international scene, this thesis argues that a Catholic identity is emerging which is not heterodox, but rather which fits into the strictest denominational orthodoxy. Nevertheless, crossing the mountains leads to readjustments in manners of expressing and representing the Catholic faith.

This dissertation presents a previously unedited text by one of the most distinguished- yet neglected-Latin writers of the Italian Renaissance, Ercole Strozzi (1471-1508), a poet and administrator in the court of Ferrara. Under the Este Dukes, Ferrara became a major center of literary and artistic patronage. The Latin literary output of the court, however, has received insufficient scholarly scrutiny. The text is a verse funeral elegy of Eleonora of Aragon (1450-1493), the first Duchess of Ferrara. Eleonora was a remarkable woman whose talents and indefatigable efforts on behalf of her husband, her children, and her state, won her accolades both at home and abroad. She also served as a prototype for the remarkable careers of her two daughters, Isabella d'Este, and Beatrice d'Este, who are celebrated for their erudition and patronage of arts and letters. The text is a mirror of the Estense court and reveals to us how its members no doubt saw themselves, at the very peak of its temporal power and the height of its prestige as a center of cultural creativity. It is also important for the striking portrait it presents of Eleonora. Ercole Strozzi chose to call his poem an epicedium, an ancient minor literary genre that had received attention in the two decades prior to its composition, due to the discovery and printing of the silver age Roman poet Statius, whose text includes several epicedia. Strozzi deftly adapts and transcends both his ancient and contemporary models (especially Poliziano), and in the process, creates a new Latin literary genre, the Renaissance epicedium. It is a fine poem, full of both erudition and creativity, and as such is the first fruits of what would be Ercole Strozzi's illustrious poetic career. The work is genuinely worthy of study on both esthetic and historical grounds.